Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiper device.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, fully concealed-type wiper devices are being adopted, in which, when stationary, wiper blades and wiper arms are hidden by a rear end of an engine hood in order to satisfy styling requirements and reduce vehicle aerodynamic resistance. However, since the wiper blades and the wiper arms of the fully concealed-type wiper device are hidden by the rear end of the engine hood, it is difficult to separate the wiper blades from a windshield glass by lock-back, in which the wiper arms are folded. It is therefore difficult to prevent the wiper blades from freezing against the windshield glass in winter.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2007-153084 describes a wiper control device in which weather data, etc. is obtained for the region in which the vehicle is present via a navigation device, and the stationary position of wiper blades is changed to a position where the wiper blade is not hidden by a rear end of an engine hood if there is a possibility of the wiper blades freezing.
The wiper control device described in JP-A No. 2007-153084 enables lock-back as described above and can prevent the wiper blades from freezing against the windshield glass by changing the stationary position of the wiper blades to a position where the wiper blade is not hidden by the engine hood rear end.
However, in the wiper control device described in JP-A No. 2007-153084, rotation force of a wiper motor that always rotates in the same direction is converted to to-and-fro operation of wiper arms by a link mechanism provided between the wiper motor and the wiper arms. The link mechanism accordingly becomes complex in order to change the stationary position, this also being the lower return position, of the wiper blades.